


To Care About the Rain (And the Night) (And Its Implications)

by imperiality (orphan_account)



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, i don't know what to make of this, legit wrote this years ago, super brief mention of karkat, um
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-25
Updated: 2017-07-25
Packaged: 2018-12-06 15:37:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11603619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/imperiality
Summary: Dave Strider goes out to brood on a rainy evening and sees a familiar woman sitting on a bench across from him. What is her name? Rain is a funny thing.





	To Care About the Rain (And the Night) (And Its Implications)

It's drizzling quite a bit. The rain softly pats your face as it falls, and you look up. You blink your eyes as the rain rolls down your chin, as you continue to listen to the drumming of the drops on the grass. The soft song of the rain creates a beat in your mind, and you nod your head along to it. You start walking again, and you stick your hands into your pockets. 

You're Dave Strider.

You're cold, and your clothes stick and cling to your skin for dear life. The rain keeps rolling down your face and your hair, while the night is dark and black. The streetlights create a hazy and dreary light, but you find it to be the best time of night. This time lets you think and wander, while you suspect your brother going out and wasting himself away. You think it's all for the better though, because every other time, he won't leave you alone.

The central square is lonely and empty. The central fountain is turned off, and you find it even more relaxing. The rain fills it, and you close your eyes to breath in the sound. You feel the air, and it's thick. The rain starts to beat down harder, and you let your imagination go. Your mind unwinds, while you listen to the music the night has brought.

You're sitting on the iron bench and thinking. Thinking about life, death, and sometimes love. You think why you feel so alone, and why no one understands you. It almost stings to contemplate, but you want to make yourself known. You suppose your façade is too heavy, even for yourself. And then you just feel like a helpless teenage boy.

 

You want to share your feelings with someone else, but seemingly, you no longer have the capacity to. You set your arm on the armrest on the bench, and sigh. You tilt your head back in content, as your thoughts still consume you. As you become more enveloped in remembering the past, concerning in your present, and being scared for the future, you almost shed a tear. Your eyes become bitter and swollen, but you simply let your head drop to the side. Your shades droop down your face just a bit, so you prop them back up. As you lift your head this time, you notice a girl. This girl is sitting on a bench across the fountain. Her hands are neatly folded on her lap, as she sits with her knees properly with a straight back. You take a closer look, and see only her head is looking downward. You still have your eyes on her, but don't consider anything of it. Her shoulders are moving up and down, so at first, you think she's laughing. You notice she still isn't looking up, and you realize she's crying bitterly. The more you stare, the more it hurts.

Her thick, curly hair is long, and moves with her crying. She's wearing a long-sleeve shirt, and a full-length skirt. Her sneakers hardly poke out from the hem of her skirt, and they're firmly planted on the ground. You tilt your head up a bit more to get a different angle, and you see she's got large, circular glasses. 

You shake your head, and jar your thoughts. This girl looks around your age, so you resolve.

 

You know how it feels, and you've been thinking about it this entire time. You've had no choice _but_ to think about it. Your heart goes out to her, and you resolve... to stand. Standing is all you can do at this point. You have to take it by steps. The seconds you can feel pass quickly, as you try to make your move. 

She's still crying, and you bite your tongue. You just want her to know that someone cares. 

You take small steps towards her, (that are more like strides), and stand in front of her. You look down and see her with her hands still folded on her knees. She doesn't look up to meet your gaze.  She simply sits and breathes unsteadily. She tries sighing and breathing to even herself out, but you know it's only making it worse. 

You crouch down to her level, and look up to see her face. Then, something overwhelming overcomes you; you feel like you know this girl well.

As your red eyes peer over the brim of your glasses, she looks sheepishly to your face. You made it here, but you don't have any other ways to play it cool.

You stick out your hand gently. 

"I'm Strider," you say in a cool tone. 

The darkness of the night, contrasted with the hazy streetlight glow made her knees, shoulders and hair shine brightly.  Her eyes were dark under the shadows. But, as she looked up, you were stunned that they were a striking green. 

She sniffles weakly, and wipes her nose with her sleeve. 

"Harley. Jade Harley."

A few moments pass, and you look into each others' eyes.

 

You find it comfortable; looking into her eyes. You want to get more enveloped in her sharp green irises. The deeper you look though, the more she seems to want to look away. You face back down at her feet, and the feeling comes back. It's compelling you: the feeling that you knew her before. You try to remember where you knew her. Jade. Jade Harley.

You attempt to come up with something to say.

"May I sit?" you politely suggest.

She sniffles again, and nods slightly. You place your hand on the bench, and pull yourself up to your knees- just enough to sit back down. You sit about half a foot away from her, and look out. She gives you a short glance, and looks forward as well. You figure she'll talk when she wants to, and you'd be ready to listen. A bit of rain falls as you both sit in silence. She opens her mouth to speak, but the words hesitate. Finally, her voice pours over the soft drizzle.

"Do you know how it feels? Like, to be so misunderstood by everyone? So low that you hate yourself. So far that God is your only friend."

She says the last two like statements, and whispers "only friend" while looking down. 

You stretch out your hand, and place it on her side of the bench, and look seriously at her.

You tell her what you really feel.

"Yes, I do."

She looks at you, nearly in terror, and starts bawling. She's uncontrollable, and cries out. She brings her knees up to the bench, but doesn't turn away from you. Your compulsion leads you. 

 

You take her in your arms, and cradle her. She's quiet, but her tears fall quickly. You rest your chin on her head, and that suddenly makes her want to stop crying. She breathes out a final time, and you let her go. She looks up at you, and her face nearly pierces you. She is your internal mind, being played out for you.

"I'm sorry," you start. "but I feel like I know you from somewhere."  
"It's alright, because I know you, too." 

You open your eyes slightly in shock, and she puts her hand on her chest. Her palm is delicate and light, and she leans in her head, too.

"I feel like I see me in you, and I can tell you my heart." She says. 

You put a hand on her head, and stroke her hair. It stopped raining, but the air was still heavy.

"You're Dave. Dave Strider, and you're the coolest guy I know." You recall you hadn't told her your first name. That's alright though, because you remembered her name when you saw her face clearly. 

(When the dull pounding in your head subsides from visions of lives past, echoes of her face still remain. Jade, holding her shotgun. Jade in her glittering black dress. Jade with Karkat, as they beckon you closer). 

Her inhales are still agitated, and her eyes are swollen. You try to let her know you're still there. You gingerly place your hand on her slender shoulder, and she reaches her hand over to set it on top of yours. She turns her head slowly towards you, and offers you a broken smile. You return her smile with a very soft chuckle. 

_I feel like this would be okay._

You slowly try to put your hand on her neck. She brings it up to her jaw, and squeezes her eyes. You trace up her ear, and pull some hair behind it. She looks surprised, but still calm.

 

She puts her knees back out, and leans them towards the inside of the bench. She sighs, and closes her eyes, You taste her breath that fills you, and you progressively close your eyes. You both lean closer, and her hands draw into herself. You grasp her arms, and she leans into you. and you hold your arms around her. The suppleness of her skin, the glint of her glasses.  _The stretch of her neck, the curl of her hair._

This woman is Jade Harley, and you've done this one time before. 

**Author's Note:**

> There are apologizes not enough to prostrate myself for the creation of this thing  
> um  
> I hope you enjoy? :')  
> (pretty unbeta'd. if you cringe more than I did, i fully and whole-heartedly understand)


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